Five Schools Sharing Student Learning to Increase Student Engagement

When students have the opportunity to participate in meaningful, relevant, and authentic projects we know that their engagement in their learning is likely to increase. But engagement goes beyond just participation, it extends to what happens once students complete the project. Do students have the opportunity to have ownership, and a sense of pride, that comes along with sharing their work publically?

A campaign called Share Your Learning is focused on making that opportunity a reality and exists to encourage teachers, schools, districts, and organizations, to commit to public presentations of student learning. Some of our favorite ways to engage students in sharing their learning are exhibitions and student-led conferences and during our recent school visits, we’ve seen great examples of both.

Exhibitions

Katherine Smith students were preparing for exhibitions during our 2017 visit. Screencasting presentations were being uploaded to YouTube and kindergarten students were getting prepared for book presentations. Quality work products were on also on display in every classroom, and the school believes in student-led conferences.

School21 students were conducting their exhibition night when Emily visited. Students displayed incredible projects and explained their work to exhibition visitors. The exhibition is the culminating part of the school’s Real World Learning Project which “provides authentic placements in workplaces, in which the students solve real problems.

Workshop School students prepare for exhibitions at the end of each term. In their exhibitions, “students reflect on their learning and present to their community about what they have accomplished, how they have grown, and where they need to improve.”

Student-Led Conferences

During a visit to Envision Learning City Arts and Tech, we saw students preparing for Envision’s portfolio defense model where they demonstrate a “deep understanding of what they must learn and are not only asked to do work but to also reflect on what it means.”

At Thrive Public Schools students in kindergarten through tenth grade, present the results of their project-based learning projects to parents, relatives, teachers, and the community at large.

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Janice is a Manager at Getting Smart. She advocates for and advises learning organizations focused on innovations in teaching and learning, and is known for her work in teacher leadership, global education, and STEM. You can connect with Janice on Twitter @JaniceWard09